KnollTextiles Launches The Adjaye Collection by David Adjaye
Design inspired by a view of Africa
KnollTextiles is thrilled to introduce The Adjaye Collection by David Adjaye, a leading architect of his generation. This inspired collection is a blend of Adjaye’s roots in Africa grounded in the language of modern textile design. Each product presents a unique take on geometric and organic systems through the process of weaving or printing to create an extra-ordinary range of patterns and textures.
KnollTextiles Creative Director Dorothy Cosonas collaborated with Adjaye based on his vision for the collection, which is inspired by African geography, nature and culture along with objects and textiles from the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum’s permanent collection.
The collection marries Adjaye’s fascination of hard geometries like triangles, diamonds and cubes, with soft texture based systems such as earth, air and atmosphere. Materiality and texture are paramount in this collection. Hints of traditional African patterning motifs and dying processes are recalibrated to compliment the modern interior.
There are nine patterns in the collection including six upholstery, two drapery and one wallcovering. Five of the upholstery fabrics are high performance with 100,000+ double rubs Wyzenbeek. Each fabric is named after a place on the continent of Africa that Adjaye cherishes.
Coinciding with the launch of the Adjaye Collection is an exhibition at the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum curated by David Adjaye called ‘David Adjaye Selects.’ A portion of sales from this collection will be donated to the Cooper Hewitt to support their textile acquisition program.
Upholstery
Aswan: A dynamic digitally printed pattern reflects the colors and energy from the region. Aswan is inspired by a traditional African kente cloth and Adjaye’s own artwork.
End Use: Upholstery
Width: 55”
Cleaning Code: S
Contents: 49% viscose, 20% linen, 19% acrylic, 17% polyester
Abrasion: 40,000 cycles Martindale
Color Options: 4
Cairo : Adjaye’s own pyramidal line drawings informed this mid-scale architectural geometric pattern. The weaving technique used creates the thin precise line work, which yields a bold graphic pattern that remains impactful even from a distance.
End Use: Upholstery
Width: 54”
Cleaning Code: S
Contents: 30% cotton, 32% rayon, 38% recycled solution dyed nylon
Abrasion: 100,000+ double rubs Wyzenbeek
Color Options: 7
Djenne: Inspired by the texture and form of a woven raffia and wool man’s cap from the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum. The nylon in Djenne was specifically developed to emulate the appearance and hand of raffia. The Djenne Mosque in Africa is a UNESCO world heritage site made entirely of clay.
End Use: Upholstery
Width: 53”
Cleaning Code: S
Contents: 70% cotton, 30% nylon
Abrasion: 100,000+ double rubs Wyzenbeek
Color Options: 5
Lagos: An Akwete cloth from the permanent collection of The Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design influenced this textural allover graphic pattern.
End Use: Upholstery
Width: 53”
Cleaning Code: W-S Bleach
Contents: 77% bleach cleanable polyester, 23% nylon
Abrasion: 100,000+ double rubs Wyzenbeek
Color Options: 8
Meroe: A woman’s Pelete Bite Wrapper (shawl) from the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum’s permanent collection inspired this woven upholstery. A complex weaving process allows the graphic pattern to appear hand drawn. Meroe has a textured surface with a high level of visual interest.
Width: 53”
Cleaning Code: W
Contents: 40% cotton, 35% polyester,
25% nylon
Abrasion: 100,000+ double rubs Wyzenbeek
Color Options: 6
Kampala: A tactile and impactful fabric inspired by a traditional woven man’s cap from the permanent collection of the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum. A common neutral base was utilized for all seven colors of Kampala allowing the specialty chenille yarn to appear as if floating on top of the fabric.
Width: 55”
Cleaning Code: S
Contents: 49% viscose, 34% linen, 9% cotton, 8% polyester
Abrasion: 100,000 double rubs Wyzenbeek
Color Options: 7
Drapery
Dakar: This architecturally rooted design references the coastal city of Western Senegal. Adjaye’s own artwork was used as jumping off point for the textile. The utilization of a pocket weave gives Dakar great dimension and allows light to filter through the pattern beautifully.
End Use: Drapery
Width: 60”
Cleaning Code: W
Contents: 100% trevira cs polyester
Color Options: 5
Kumasi: This semi-sheer drapery is inspired by the patterning of an Adinkra Wrapper from Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum’s permanent collection. In African tradition the symbols on the wrapper allow the living to communicate with their ancestors. The symbol used on Kumasi represents a well built or strong home. The intentionally imperfect hand painted appearance belies the modern digital printing technique utilized for Kumasi.
End Use: Drapery
Width: 118”
Cleaning Code: W
Contents: 100% trevira cs polyester
Color Options: 4
Wallcovering
Harare: This printed wallcovering references the pattern of an Adrinka Wrapper from the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum’s permanent collection. The symbol used in the wallcovering pattern symbolizes the safety and security in love. The symbol is a fence which keeps the family safe. Harare has a textural look achieved by combining a subtle emboss with the small-scale printed motif. Harare embodies the feeling of movement generally found in a woven wall-covering.
“By taking David out of architecture and into textiles we translated his point of view on geometric and organic systems through varied weave structures and construction techniques. I was thrilled to collaborate world-renowned architect David Adjaye on this dynamic multidiscipline collection,” says Dorothy Cosonas, Creative Director KnollTextiles.
About David Adjaye
David Adjaye OBE is widely recognized as one of the leading architects of his generations with major works in Europe, North America, Asia and Africa.
About KnollTextiles
KnollTextiles is currently under the creative direction of Dorothy Cosonas, who combines clean, clear color with modern, elegant patterns and textures. Influenced by a passion for fine art and international fashion, Cosonas is the recipient of numerous awards, including Gold at Best of NeoCon. Her work was a major part of KnollTextiles 2011 retrospective exhibition at the Bard Graduate Center and has been accepted into the permanent collection of Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian National Design Museum. Founded by Florence Knoll in 1947, KnollTextiles is a division of Knoll, Inc., and maintains a marketing and design studio at 1330 Avenue of the
Americas, New York, NY 10019.
